DGP Jammu & Kashmir rubbishes ISIS presence in the valley

New Delhi: In the wake of the ISIS backed terror attacks ravaging different cities across the globe, Director General of Police (DGP) Jammu and Kashmir, K Rajendra Kumar, on Monday, ruled out any influence of the outfit in the valley.

Shiv Sena’s official magazine Samana has reported the presence of ISIS flags in Kashmir, and asked the centre address with the issue with an ‘iron hand.’

J&K police have assured that no such activities are taking place in the Kashmir valley and asserted that strict vigilance is being carried out regularly.

“We do not find any ISIS ideology (being followed) in Jammu and Kashmir,” said Kumar to in an interview to a newspaper.

Earlier Shiv Sena had asked for stringent measures against the people involved in unfurling the ISIS flags in Kashmir.

Responding to the concern of Shiv Sena, Rajendra Kumar, asserted that no ISIS ideology is being cultivated in the valley.

He also clarified that cross-border militancy infiltration has declined in the valley. Though local rebellious uprising is still prevailing, he mentioned.

“Infiltration (from across the border) rate has decreased remarkably and there is also a decline in the militancy-related activities in the Valley,” added the DGP.

“Anti-infiltration and counter-terrorist operation is a continuous process. It is a regular feature. The situation is under control. Terrorist actions and crime are on a decline,” said Kumar.

However, there were reports of ISIS flags being hoisted post-Friday prayers recently. Moreover, the masked youths who had allegedly hoisted the flags had also instigated mobs to pelt stones at security forces.

Notably, a lot of youths were detained by security forces in 2014 for expressing solidarity with the global terrorist outfit and hoisting their flags. However, no organisational presence or hideout of the ISIS has been unearthed till now. The separatist leaders have openly condemned ISIS and clarified no traces of the organisation are present in the Valley.

A man travels on a vehicle laden with his family's belongings on the outskirts of Peshawar in an attempt to flee from the insurgency-hit Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. VOA

Insurgency in Pakistan has destroyed most of the public infrastructure, including education institutions

Nearly seven million Pakistani youth do not attend school

Over 1,100 girls’ schools in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have been damaged or fully destroyed by the insurgency in Pakistan

Pakistan, September 4, 2017 : Years of militancy and counterinsurgency operations in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region have destroyed much of the infrastructure, including education centers, in the area.

More than 1,100 girls’ schools in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which is adjacent to the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, have reportedly been damaged or fully destroyed by the decade long insurgency, according to Pakistan government estimates.

While the Pakistani government claims to have rehabilitated around 900 schools, hundreds of schools have not been rebuilt or rehabilitated in FATA.

Experts say the government should take immediate steps to rebuild the destroyed schools in the tribal region.

“Several factors adversely affected education institutions in the tribal region. One factor is the Taliban who destroyed schools and education institutions, particular girls’ schools,” A.H. Nayyar, a Pakistan-based educationist, told VOA’s Urdu service. “Unless the schools are fully rehabilitated, it would be extremely difficult to give hope to the youth in the region.”

“It is important to open the doors of education for tribal youth so that they get the sense that they could achieve a lot in their life, like other citizens, particularly the girls; the government must rehabilitate their schools, utilizing all available resources,” Nayyar said.

Some tribesmen are returning home after more than one million were displaced by Pakistani military operations against the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) in parts of FATA. According to U.N. estimates, about 95,000 families fled to nearby cities within Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan’s Khost province.

Pakistan’s Army says many areas have been cleared in recent counterinsurgency operations, and it is slowly allowing the displaced tribesmen to return to their home.

U.S. military commanders until recently considered the North Waziristan region in FATA as the “epicenter” of international terrorism. The region has for years served as a training ground for Taliban and other militants groups.

During the past several years, insurgent groups, including TTP, have repeatedly targeted education institutions and schools in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA region, depriving its younger generation of acquiring education.

Nearly 58 percent of the children between the ages of five and 16 are not in school in Pakhtunkhwa, according to Dawn, a local English language daily. Besides the militancy, extreme poverty and lack of infrastructure are also blamed for the lack of schooling.

Pakistan is 50 years behind in its primary and 60 years behind in secondary education targets, according to a recent United Nations report. The literacy rate in poor rural areas stands at 14 percent for females and 64 percent for males. Nearly seven million Pakistani youth do not attend school. (VOA)